Container cover



1, 1941- F. NEUSCHAEFER 8,0

CONTAINER COVER Filed Jan 10, 1941 INVENTOR. 17v: NZ ZVEUJ CH/l EF'EE.

BY YM ATTORNEYS Patented July 1, 1941 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to caps or closures for bottles or other containers. Among other uses the invention is particularly adapted for use on bottles for liquids such as colored finger nail .pol-

, ishes, polish removers, etc.

Closures for bottles of finger nail polish and the like, are often provided with an applicator, for example, in the form of a small brush for extending down into the bottle and having its upper portion fixed within the inside of the closure or cap so that when the closure is removed, the user may apply the applicator with some of the liquid from the bottle thereon to the finger nail or other surface to be treated. According to the present invention, such caps or closures may be formed with an upwardly extending handanger of smearing areas not desired to be 001 ored or treated. The fins comprising this handle portion may be upwardly tapered to a blunt point or otherwise, in a manner to enhance the artistic appearance of the closure, and since the cross-sectional shape of the handle is generally similar to a Y formation, it may be securely gripped by the convenient triangular arrangement of the ends of two fingers and the thumb, thus making it possible to apply the applicator with the same degree of accuracy as could be obtained with a long handled brush, yet without requiring the. handle portion to be extended upwardly more than will be convenient for easy packing and shipment of the container assembly.

Also according to a preferred form of the invention, the handle portion of the closure may be constructed and arranged with sufilcient weight to at least counterbalance the applicator when the body portion of the closure is resting on its side, and accordingly the applicator will be elevated out of contact with the supporting surface, thus eliminating any danger of smearing the liquid on any article of furniture or the like, on which the closure may be placed. Such a construction will not onlyhold the applicator elevated from the supporting surface, but at the same time two of thethree fins will contact with such surface, thereby preventing the device from rolling. Hence also any danger that the device will roll, and that the applicator will thus come into contact with any object or.fall to the floor, will be eliminated.

If the closure and bottle assembly is used for liquids such as finger nail polish, it is sometimes desirable to form the closure with 'a protuberance oriarea having a surface curvature and outline simulating a finger nail. Such area may then be colored so as to be of the same shade as the finger nail polish in the bottle when dried on a finger nail, whereby the buyer may quickly inspect the bottle cap and choose the desired shade of color and readily and accurately compare one of her polished finger nails with the colored area of similar curvature and outline on the'bottle cap. With the present invention, such colored areas simulating a finger nail maybe conveniently placed at the base of the recesses between the diverging fins of the handle portion.

- In this position the fins will serve to protect the colored areas during packing, shipment and display of the assembly, and thereby prevent the color from being chipped, worn or soiled. The lower portions of the recesses between the fins may be readily made of such shape that the protuberances simulating the finger nails will conveniently fit therein and so that theside walls of the fins will in effect ,de'mark the outline of typical pointed finger nails. 7 y 7 Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description given below, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which forms a' part of this specification and fillustratesmerely by way of example certain stantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1';

preferred embodiments of the invention., The invention consists in such novel features, arrangements and combinations of parts as are shown and described herein. i

In thedrawing,

Fig. l is an elevational view of a bottle cap constructed in accordance with the invention and in assembled relationship withan applicator and bottle; Fig. 2 is a top, view of a bottle capsuclifas shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view 'tk fi Flg. 4 is a side view of the same bottlecap'and showing the manner-in which the same maybe gripped by two fingers and the thumbof the users hand; i

near the main body'portion.

fingers and thumb of the user's hand while gripping the handle portion of the bottle cap;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the bottle cap and ap- 'plicator of Fig. 1, showing the position which the parts will assume when resting upon a' table or other supporting surface; Fig. 7 is an elevational view of a modified to of the inventiom-and Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 88 of Fig. 'l and additionally showing the arrangement "of the ends of the finthe bottle when the cap is threaded on. An applicator as at ll, which may take the form of a small brush, for example, may be normally suspended within the bottle by suitably fixing the upper end of the applicator within a small hol as at l formed within the portion ll.

As shown, the handle portion of the closure as at It may extend upwardly from the body portion in the form of three fins as l1, l8, l9 protruding divergently outwardly from a generally vertical and central axis of the handle. As shown in Figs. 4 and ,5, a channel-like space between two of these fins provides areas for securely engaging the end of the users thumb for example, while thefother two channel-like spaces between the fins similarly provide areas for firmly engaging the ends of two opposed fingers of the users hand. That is, thehandle portion of the closure will have a generally Y-shaped cross section for conveniently and very securely fitting the ends of will serve toindicate to the workman when coloring these areas, the proper limits of the area to be colored, and at the same time more distinctively outline the colored finger nail representation. Since as shown, the lower portions of the fins l1, l8 and is may readily be made to protrude outwardly somewhat beyond the areas 20, these fins will serve to protect the colored areas 20 against chipping, wearing or soiling of the color during packing, shipment or'display of the assembly.

The body and handle portions of the closure may be readily made integral and-of any of the well-known molded plastic materials now cusgers and thumb of the user's hand while gripping l5 tomarily used for bottle closures or caps. When the handle portion of the cap to remove the same the assembly is made of such material and of from the container. I the proportions shown in the drawing, the han- As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the closuremay comdle portion will be so arranged and constructed prise a body portion as at N. This portion may with 'sufiicient weight, to somewhat more than be threaded as at H or otherwise suitably formed 20 counterbalance the applicator when the body interiorly in well-known ways, for detachable enportion is resting on its side as shown in Fig. 6; gagement with the outlet portion of a bottle as As a consequence, the applicator will be elevated at H. A suitable cork or rubber washer as at ll out of contact with the supporting surface and at may also be provided withinthe portion I. for the same time two of the fins, for example, fins bringing the same-into sealing relationship on 5 ll and I9, will come into contact with the supporting surface. Hence these fins, together with the body portion l0, will provide in efiect a threepoint contact'with the surface and prevent any tendency of the assembly to roll along the surface upon which it is placed. Thus any danger that the applicator and cap will roll intocontact with any other object, and danger that the assembly will roll 01! the support to the floor, is

avoided. With the fins of the handle portion upwardly tapered as shown, when the device'is placed on its side as Fig. 6, the applicator or brush will be directed slightly upwardly so that any liquid thereon will tend to run back into the two fingers and the thumb of the user's hand whenbrought together in a triangular formation as illustrated Fig. 5.

As shown in the various figures, the lower portions of the three fins may extend out to sp proximately the same diameter as the body portion I0 of the closure, while the upper portions of the fins may be gradually tapered for some distance and then more abruptly tapered to a blunt point at the top. The fins do not need to extend upwardly appreciably beyond where they will "contact with the ends of the user's fingers when gripping the closure handle portions at points Yet a sumciently secure gripis afforded to enable the user to apcavity within the body portion l0, instead of running to, the end of 'the brush or applicator from which it might drip onto the supporting surface.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the fins |1','ll', I! may be curved, the curvatures of each fin conforming for example in general to portions of vertical cylinders. At least the vertical elements of each curved fin should" preferably conform to straight lines, in

ply. the applicator with the same degree of accuracy and steadiness'as would otherwise be obtainable only with a long handled artist's type of brush.

At the. baseof each of the channel-like spaces between the fins, areas as at '20 may be formed withsurface curvatures and outlines such as to substantially simulate finger nails. These areas maybe colored and of a shade corresponding to that produced by the liquid in the container It will'be'noted that the adjacent walls of the fins willserve to outline 4* these areas so that the same will simulate'nails "when used on ones nails.

order that the article may be readily drawn from a simple form of mold. Also as shown in Fig. 8. the curvatures are preferably in a direction such as to tend to more closely embrace the fingers and thumb on the sides against which pressure is exerted in unthreadingthe cap from the container. That is, the fins at their outer edges are curved in directions opposite to the direction of rotation of the cap when being unthreaded fromthe container. Generally more effort is required 'to remove the cap, than to properly apply it to a container, and there is danger that iflconsiderable pressure is required to do so, thecapwill suddenly come loose and slip from the hand. But with the curvature of the fins as shown in Fig. 8, the user is enabled to apply firm pressure against the sides of the ends of two fingers and the thumb in a direction to remove the cap and -in such a way that the cap is firmly gripped and danger of slippage prevented. As also best indicated in Fig. 8, the three divergent fins if desired maybe unevenly spaced about the central axis so as to provide the most space for the thumb, a

space of intermediate size for the second finger, anda smaller space for the first finger. As indiwhich have been trimmed to a point. In the cated in Fig. 7, if desired the side walls of the -manufacture of the cap, the walls of the fins fins may bear, in slight relief, an outline as at the art after understanding the invention, that various further changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover 'all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a bottle closure comprising a body portion, means on the interior of said portion for detachably engaging the outlet portion of a bottle in sealing relationship thereto, an applicator having its upper end secured within the interior of said bodyportion, whereby the lower portions of the applicator are suspended in the bottle when the closure is applied thereto, and a handle portion extending upwardly from said body portion, said handle portion comprising three fins extending divergently outwardly from a generally vertical andcentral axis of the handle portion, whereby each side of each fin is adapted to engage the users thumb or a finger, when the ends of two fingers and of the thumb of the users hand are brought together in a triangular formation with the fins therebetween said handle portion also being constructed and arranged with suflicient weight to at least counterbalance the applicator when said body portion is resting on its side, to elevatethe applicator out of contact with the supporting surface,.while two of said fins contact with said surface and prevent the device from rolling.

2. A container cap comprising a body portion formed interiorly with means for detachably engaging the container, and an integral handle portion extending upwardly therefrom and comprising three fins extending divergently outwardly from the vertical axis of the handle portion for fitting between the ends of two fingers and the end of the thumb of the users hand when said fingers and thumb are brought together in a triangular formation. I

3. A container cap comprising a body portion formed interiorly with threaded means for detachably engaging the container, and an integral handle portion extending upwardly therefrom and comprising three finsex'tending divergently outwardly from the vertical axis of the handle portion. for fitting between the ends of two fingers and the end of the thumb of the users hand when said fingers and thumb are brought together in a triangular formation, said fins at their outer edges being curved in directions opposite to the direction of rotation of the cal when being unthreaded from the container.

4. A container cap comprising a body portion formed interiorly with means for detachably engaging the container, and an integral handle portion extending upwardly therefrom and, comprising three fins extending divergently outwardly from the vertical axis of the handle portion for fitting between the ends of "two fingers and the end of the thumb of the users hand when said fingers and thumb are brought together in a triangular formation, said fins being unevenly spaced angularly about said axis, to provide therebetween a larger channel-like space for the end of the thumb and smaller channel-like spaces for the ends of two fingers.

5. A container cap comprising a body portion formed interiorly with means for detachably engaging the container, and an integral handle portion extending upwardly therefrom and comprising three fins extending divergently outwardly from the vertical axis of the handle portion for fitting between the ends of two fingers and the end of the thumb of the users hand when said fingers and thumb are brought together in a triangular formation, the outer edges of said fins at the lower portions thereof extend ing to approximately the same radius as said body portion, and converging upwardly to an apex.

6. A container cap comprising a body portion formed interiorly with means for detachably engaging the container, an integral handle portion extending upwardly therefrom and comprising three fins extending divergently outwardly from the vertical axis of the handle portion for fitting between the ends of two fingersand the end of the thumb of the users hand when said fingers and thumb are brought together in a triangular formation, and an integral area simulating the contours and outline of a finger- I nail, located adjacent said body portion and within the channel-like space between two of said fins and protected thereby.

7 A container cap in accordance with claim 2 and having an area simulating, as to outline and, color, a finger nail treated with polish, said area being located on the channel-like portion between two of said fins and protected thereby. 

